Retirement of CCIP Certification

JustFred

Is there actually a difference between the new CCNP SP and CCNP SP Operations? I'm confused because according to Cisco, CCNP SP operations, the following exams are required 642-770, 642-775, 642-780 and 642-785. Meanwhile the video on the new CCNP SP says totally the opposite.

NetworkVeteran

ram1101 wrote: »

well that sucks since i couldnt event get my CCIP after taking QOS and BGP+ MPLS exam anyways i waited too long after i got my CCNP so the BCSI didnt count i need to take the route. so i couldnt get my ccip in time and i took all the required tests that sucks

I haven't taken a single CCIP exam yet. There is plenty of time to take these exams if we focus.

bermovick

Only 2 months for both BGP and MPLS or the combo. BGP is hard to study for for some reason - I like it but wow, is studying for it boring, and MPLS is just ... confusing.

Forsaken_GA

Somnipotent wrote: »

I'm going to skip the exams and just study for the pure benefit of absorbing the knowledge. I did notice, however, that the BGP/MPLS/QoS topics are now nestled within the Service Provider OPs cert... but honestly, I don't feel like sticking around an ISP NOC environment any longer than I have to so it's not really a track i'm interested in. I requested a voucher for CCNA Security today so I can get that out of the way. It was my intention anyway of going the Security route anyway, especially since there are Security topics within the CCIE R&S blueprint.

The security sections on the R&S blueprint are very small compared to what's in the Security track. Mostly involving ACL filtering, and things like CBAC and Zone Based Firewall. The Security track is very ASA-centric when it comes to that stuff, so I'm not sure you get much benefit studying R&S topics if Security is your eventual goal. You're also not going to find any of the secure connectivity stuff like VPN on the R&S blueprint, or IDS/IPS, and so on.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying carefully consider where your goals are at, and consider the time investment. You should always be working towards what you want to do, and doing CCIE R&S to get to Security is the long way indeed.

DPG

Well this sucks. I think I was close to 80% ready for BGP+MPLS before I got off track. I guess I can take at least a few shots at it before July 27 and hopefully pass. QOS seems doable in 3 months.

NetworkVeteran

bermovick wrote: »

Only 2 months for both BGP and MPLS or the combo. BGP is hard to study for for some reason - I like it but wow, is studying for it boring, and MPLS is just ... confusing.

I dunno. BGP is... the core of the Internet. I agree the protocol is not as slick as EIGRP. Certainly, it's not as agile. At the same time... it's very well-designed. It scales up the wazoo! Multi-protocol this, AFIs and SAFIs. Lots of RFCs to cover the extensions to vanills BGP. It's certainly been expanded more than any other routing protocol. And therein lies part of my dis-satisfaction with the certification. That it focuses on the basics... and not all the glory of what is really deployed. I mean, these days, EVERYONE has gone multiprotocol if not for v6 then for labels and VPN addresses. And not just the L3VPN MPLS that's so hyped in the MPLS certification! L2VPN is big these days, too. Ahh well. 60 days. Two exams. Very do-able for those wanting to stay at the cuttinge-edge of technology. Especially when these exams are years old and not so cutting edge anymore. In the words of Al Bundy, "Let's rock!"

Forsaken_GA

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

I dunno. BGP is... the core of the Internet. I agree the protocol is not as slick as EIGRP. Certainly, it's not as agile.

You haven't played with enough BGP if you think it's less agile than EIGRP BGP has so many knobs to turn, there is no other protocol out there that gives me as much control over routing policy as BGP does.

bermovick

Yeah, it's definitely a fine-tunable RP, but for some reason I haven't really found any book that's not incredibly dry. A chapter on route reflectors. A chapter on confederations, and I end up feeling I slept through 100 pages of stuff that could have been compressed down to maybe 3.

Forsaken_GA

Oh there's no doubt about that. This networking gig can be tedious stuff. I was telling a coworker that the best resolution I've ever found for insomnia is to go pull out a bad Cisco Press book and start reading.

PsychoFin

Check out this migration tool, it'll let you know which of your current exams count toward the new CCNP SP:

CCIP Migration Tool

Also, I suppose the main difference between SP and SP OPS is that the former is more for NOC implementation and provisioning engineers, while the latter is more for NOC 1st and 2nd line agents. I recognize a lot of the topics from my 5 years in a NOC. I wish they had these ones back then hehe.

Great link by the way with the study material Ryan!

NetworkVeteran

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

You haven't played with enough BGP if you think it's less agile than EIGRP BGP has so many knobs to turn, there is no other protocol out there that gives me as much control over routing policy as BGP does.

Aye, but after turning a knob, you have time to get a coffee before you see a change.

bermovick wrote:

A chapter on confederations, and I end up feeling I slept through 100 pages of stuff that could have been compressed down to maybe 3.

I'd just read the RFC. It's 10 pages, and afterwards you'll have a better understanding than those who read the 100 pages of Cisco Press! It also has a great 'gloriously retired' author.

SteveO86

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

Aye, but after turning a knob, you have time to get a coffee before you see a change.

Clear ip bgp %neighbor% soft in|out

Might speed things up Just be careful in production

vinbuck

Well that kinda sucks...I was gonna do CCIP after I pass TSHOOT next week, but I may just go onto CCIE. I already work on an MP-BGP/MPLS network, so thats not a huge jump. I just don't have any IOS-XE or XR gear to play with and I'm pretty sure GNS3 doesn't support them, so on to CCIE it is!

I guess Cisco made the decision for me

jovan88

I feel like Cisco screwed me over because if I want to go for CCNP:SP I will need to pass 2 more exams, even though I'm a fresh CCIP. Is it worth the money forking out money for the new exams now that I already know the content? Nahhh.... These exams aren't cheap and they're getting harder to study for.

MrBrian

PsychoFin wrote: »

Check out this migration tool, it'll let you know which of your current exams count toward the new CCNP SP:

CCIP Migration Tool

Thanks for that link. Pretty cool. You select any/all exams you've passed, and it'll spit out what you need.

I have ROUTE, so I won't need SPROUTE.. which makes sense. However, the funny part is that I looked at the SPROUTE content and IS-IS is included. But IS-IS is not covered in ROUTE. Looks like I slipped through the cracks.. and won't ever need to learn IS-IS. Muahaha... just kidding. I'll learn it at some point, but it kind of caught my eye that I get credit for it without ever seeing IS-IS. On second thought, I'm not technically getting credit for passing that exam, but they've deemed that ROUTE can be substituted for it. I guess that's a better way to look at it.

Another weird thing, the prerequisites for CCNP:SP say you need CCNA:SP or any CCIE. But can't you go there straight from CCNP?

spiderjericho

vinbuck wrote: »

I just don't have any IOS-XE or XR gear to play with and I'm pretty sure GNS3 doesn't support them, so on to CCIE it is!

https://learningnetworkstore.cisco.com/market/prod/listSubCatRemoteLabs.se.work?TRGT=85&/nxt/rcrs/=2565

Well, Cisco has started doing IOU "rentals" for CCIP and CCNP. It would be nice if they extend it to the other tracks.

IOU could be a powerful tool and become a cheaper alternative to rack rentals (same principle though, using a resource in the cloud).

warriorfan808

I'm wondering if IOS-XE is anything like JUNOS. I've never used it, but I heard that the new version of the Cisco IOS was based off of Linux and was much like JUNOS, which is based off of BSD. My point being that I have an Olive for my GNS3. I'm wondering if anyone is working on one for the IOS-XE if this is the Linux counter part.

DPG

Anyone else trying to beat the July 27, 2012 deadline for BGP+MPLS? I'm hoping to get at least a few attempts in.

vinbuck

Man I thought about it, but I'm taking it easy to gear up for a run at the CCIE written later this summer and don't want to risk burnout on a retiring cert. I would love to have it, but it doesn't fit for me right now...

Good luck! BGP and MPLS are two of my favorite topics...would love to go more in depth on them

DPG

Going over the exam topics, it looks like cell mode MPLS (ATM) is the only technology that I don't have any experience with.

networker050184

Cell mode was the worst part of studying for this exam. The whole thing has needed an update for a while so glad to see them updating now

NetworkVeteran

Anyone else trying to beat the July 27, 2012 deadline for BGP+MPLS? I'm hoping to get at least a few attempts in.

Do or do not do! There is no try.

I just passed BGP+MPLS! One more exam to go and several months to complete it.

NetworkVeteran

DPG wrote: »

Going over the exam topics, it looks like cell mode MPLS (ATM) is the only technology that I don't have any experience with.

I opted to learn the cell-mode concepts but to ignore the cell-mode commands, since I never encounter them in the wild. I figured I'd rather spend my time really mastering the core topics so I could afford to lose points on the silly topics, than to waste time learning obsolete/nearly-useless information.

Worked for me.

DPG

Well I passed BGP+MPLS today. Exam was not very difficult at all and definitely needed updating.The labs were almost too easy. On one of them, I was trying to input a command and I panicked because it said it wasn't available. I had forgotten to enter enable mode!

SteveO86

Congrats, you just got QoS left right?

DPG

Yes, only QOS left to go. I'm starting off with the CBT Nuggets and then will check out the INE material.

NetworkVeteran

QoS is simpler than MPLS. Finishing up should not take us long.

What is next for you? CCNP-SP is so tempting, but I'm aiming towards CCIE R&S.

DPG

I don't have any access to IOS-XR equipment so it might be difficult. The CCIE is becoming less and less valuable so this might be the end for me as far as Cisco goes.

Forsaken_GA

DPG wrote: »

I don't have any access to IOS-XR equipment so it might be difficult. The CCIE is becoming less and less valuable so this might be the end for me as far as Cisco goes.

You've been reading too much press.

As of right now, there are still less than 40,000 people worldwide who have ever passed the CCIE. I can guarantee you that in the same time frame that more then 40,000 doctors who graduated medical school, more than 40,000 lawyers who passed the bar, and more than 40,000 engineers who passed the Professional Engineer exam (or their countries equivalents)

Given the worldwide trend of society towards being as interconnected as possible, do you honestly think that the need for talented network professionals is going to decrease?

As long as you can actually perform at a CCIE level, even if you paid for it entirely out of pocket, it'll still be one of the best return on investments a network professional could ever make, especially considering what a doctor, lawyer, or engineer has to pay for their degrees.